Proportions of the Human Head

Drawing the Structure of the Head and Face

To draw the human head accurately, first become familiar with the basic proportions. Traditional rules of proportion show the face divided into six equal squares, two by three. The upper horizontal division is roughly at the 'third eye' level mid-forehead, the lower at the base of the nose. The eyes sit on the horizontal centre, the mouth on the centre of the lower third. If you are skeptical of such simple mathematics, try it out on some models in magazines - it works! While this is an ideal which does not account for racial and individual variation, observing these basic proportions gives you a starting point to measure against. By ensuring your basic proprtions are correct to begin with, you will avoid major redraws at a later stage of the drawing. To construct a well-proportioned head, follow these simple steps.

Begin with a ball. Drop a line from mid-forehead to the chin. 'Slice off' a circle at the side of the head, and from the front of this circle, curve a line down to the chin. Complete the plane of the face with a line on the other side. Now add the jawline. Construct the nose, indicate mouth and chin position and elongate skull slightly. (The distance from chin to crown is almost the same as from forehead to the back of the skull). For an in-depth explanation of this method, see Ron Lemen's excellent tutorial.

It's important that you take the time to walk through and complete the

Understanding 3D Form tutorial before you're ready to take this next step. Anyone who thinks they are beyond the basics presented there is kidding themselves, myself included. No matter how good you may be, if you dont get the basics it will come back to bite you.

Step 1. This is the biggy. This step dictates the entire head drawing, and or pose for that matter if you are attaching an entire body to this. Start with a sphere, freehand will do, so long as it reads as a ball. You are going to divide the sphere into halves, then fourths. There will be 8 sections total. Think of this as a 3D sphere, which you should do anyway, because what you draw will ultimately be 3 dimensional. Once the sphere has been evenly divided you are going to find the golden cross section that dictates and determines the size, shape, tilt, character, and proportions of the head to be drawn. The cross section determines where the brow line begins, and divides our face plane in half with a centerline. These divisions also help determine where the ear will sit on the side of the head. Amazing how it all comes down to a simple cross section, isnt it? The centerline of the face is derived from our cross section. This centerline is drawn next. Note that the centerline of the head doesnt follow the form of the sphere once we have established the cross section. Why? Because, the chin extends away from the sphere shape. If our chin was a part of this sphere, we would have a pretty darn round face. It doesnt have to be any particular length

at this point, it is only there to establish the two main divisions of the head, or divides the head into an even left and right half. With a minimal degree of shifting of one feature or another, all faces are fairly symmetrical. I say minimal degree of shifting of features, meaning not everyones eyes are perfectly even across the face laterally, not everyones ears are laterally even, etc. Lyle Lovett for example, really asymmetrical. But his face still is evenly divided, and it has all the components required to call it a head.

Once you know the tilt, have found the cross section, and laid in the centerline of the head, your next step is to shave to two side of our sphere on either side of the cross section. This will help you begin forming the side planes of the head. Why shave them? Well, the skull isnt actually round like a ball, but

flattened on all sides with a fairly round top for the skullcap. Keeping those round side planes would actually be deceiving, and the skull drawn would end up a little too wide, awkward looking, and the ears would be mounted on these little tiny ends, with no real cohesive attachment to the whole

Step 2-Now that you have the cross section established, the next thing you will do is divide the head into thirds. This is the golden division you will use to lay all of the feature elements of the skull upon, i.e., the eyes, nose lips, ears, and so on The primary, or stock look for the average human is even divisions

between these thirds. But once understood, these divisions will be your guide to drawing charactures, character types for stories, or whatever. These divisions are as important as the golden cross section that began all this. The upper third is what you start with. This establishes the divisional units of the skull, i.e. it creates the volume to which the other 2/3rds will be measured. The upper 1/3rd is from the hairline to the brow line. The 2nd division establishes the location for the nose, ears, and eyes. Remember, when you find the nose, you have also found the ears. They follow the top of the nose, or brow ridge, and the bottom of the nose division evenly with just about everyone. Knowing this will help you. I see many drawings and paintings where the ears look like they were pasted on to the skull after the fact because of little or no understanding of proper proportion, or placement were privy. The middle divisions go between the top of the brow, to the base, or bottom of the nose. The lower 3rd sets up where your mouth goes, and finishes the skull with locating the bottom of the chin. Thus, this lower 3rd goes from the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin. These divisions of thirds wrap entirely around the skull. These divisions remain evenly proportioned no matter what the tilt of the head is. So if the head is looking straight up, all the divisions will be shrunk down to little segments, but still even in their division. This is soooo important in placing all the features on the head. The side division of the head helps place the ear in its correct position, to the left of the vertical division line for the right ear, and to the right of the vert line on the left side of the head. This vertical division also tells you where the jaw begins, since it attaches to the skull just in front of the ears. When it is all said and done, and this golden division of thirds is well understood, and heavily practiced to the point of intuitive understanding, the rules of proper thirds can be broken. This is where character types are created. They dont necessarily follow proper spacing and placing, but rather take on their own divisions. This is valuable information for spacing and placing the features on the face. I cant stress this stuff enough. I see many a drawing and painting that just didnt quite work because these basic principals werent known. Remember it well, and you will always draw a properly divided, and proportioned head, or head attached to a body in a figure drawing.

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Step 3-Here I basically summed up what it all means when it is said and done. This head took about 3 minutes to draw because I know the principals of drawing a well done head, and I practiced them repeatedly for years and years. I also had an idea of what I was after for a finish. This guy could easily be refined many times over, but I am not bashing or critiquing, merely demonstrating what a good understanding of the basics can get you. Here are a couple pages of head drawings I have accumulated from a number of my sketchbooks.

Here is an assignment if you so choose. If you do this assignment, DONT DO ONE DRAWING AND CALL IT FINISHED. You shoud draw entire pages of at least a dozen drawings on the page. Repetition is the KEY to successful drawing, cant stress that enough. Come to my studio some time and I will show you the dozens upon dozens of pads filled front to back of studies. Good, Bad, Horrid, Eye Wrenching, etc. but done no less. Mileage is the hamburger helper of the basic principals, trust me. Doing a hundred heads before understanding how they work is great, so long as by the time you have done them all, you understand volume and proportion to a logical degree. Drawing the heads repeatedly over and over again is boring to only those who refuse to learn, interesting to those who are curious, and fascinating to those who need to know.

So the assignment is to do dozens of these wire frames, attach the chin, find the ear and the nose, like the one in step two. Different tilts, and different angles. I want to see proper division. No guess work, you have the rules in front of you, follow them closely, and I guarantee you next time you draw some figure in a scene or in a pose of some sort, that head is going to look well constructed from a proportion stand point, because you took the time to learn those principals of head division and will never stop using them until you stop producing art I hope this helps you out a bit. Good luck and enjoy.

Ron Lemen Recomened Books Andrew Loomis-Figure Drawing for all its worth Andrew Loomis-Creative Illustration Andrew Loomis-Fun with the Pencil Andrew Loomis-Drawing the Head and Hands Andrew Loomis-Successful Drawing Anatomy Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life Stephen Peck-Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist John Vanderpoel-The Human Figure Fritz Schider-An Atlas of Anatomy For Artists Perspective Dora Miriam Norton-Freehand Perspective and Sketching Arthur Guptill-Sketching as a Hobby Guptill-Sketching and Rendering in Pencil Ernest Watson-Creative Perspective for Artists and Illustrators The Famous Artists Courses from the Fifties to the early 1970's I would tend to stray away from the Hogarth books, only because what he does is purely inventive, not using real models or anything for his basis of structure. As a result, his images tend to be a bit too sinuey, rubber like, and just not quite right. Bridgeman though is a bible that no artist should be without. About Ron Lemen Ron Lemen is a master painter (and my own personal savior, MB). He has worked in the entertainment and illustration industry for more than 16 years. He is currently working for Presto Studios in San Diego as a lead designer on Myst:3-Exile as well as teaching night classes at Jeff Watts Art Atelier. To view samples of his work go to: http://www.geocities.com/lemenayd/index.html This tutorial was originally created and posted By Ron Lemen on the Digital Art Forum. You can find the Digital Art Forum here: http://www.sijun.com/dhabih/mainscreen.html

Drawing the Human Head from Life

Using Basic Structure Now that we know the basic proportions of the head, how do we apply these

concepts to drawing from life? The trick is to take it a step at a time, and to trust your eyes. Keep proportion and perspective in mind, and remember that what you 'know' about the face may be very different from what you see, depending on the angle. Two of the most common faults are placing the eye too high on the face, and making the skull too short. Here is a step-by-step guide to drawing the head using a simple linear approach.

Observing the subject, begin with a rough ball indicating the main part of the skull. Draw the line from forehead to chin, form the plane of the face, and add the jawline and main features. Note that the line indicating the nose shows the base of the nose, not the tip. This will help with modeling the nose later.

Place the ear, construct the nose (in a frontal view using two lines along the length), draw the jawline and indicate the brows, forehead and cheeks (depending on the pose). Position the eyes carefully.

Erase construction lines. Improve the linework, checking the model constantly, adding detail and correcting shape. Add hair. Note that the drawing of the neck and shoulders must also be accurate. This drawing has been darkened to demonstrate the observed lines. If you wish to shade your drawing, keep the linework light.

Tips: Practice drawing the head from many different angles. Observe how the facial muscles change as an expression changes. Try taking your own reference photos. Adults are easier to draw than children, as their features are more sharply defined. Try doing some studies of a skull if you can, (try the local museum,art school or school science department) as this will help you understand the planes of the face.

Figure Drawing - Proportions of the Human Figure

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Relative Proportions of the Body

A common problem in figure drawing is getting everything in proportion. While there are lots of sutbtle differences between individuals, human proportions fit within a fairly standard range, though artists have historically looked for idealised standards against which the rest of us don't always measure up! In figure drawing, the basic unit of measurement is the 'head', which is the distance from the top of the head to the chin. This handy unit of measurement is reasonably standard, and has long been used by artists to establish the proportions of the human figure. The proportions used in figure drawing are: - An average person, is generally 7-and-a-half heads tall (including the head). - An ideal figure, used when aiming for an impression of nobility or grace, is drawn at 8 heads tall. - An heroic figure, used in the heroic for the depiction of gods and superheroes, is eightand-a-half heads tall(beware of creating a 'pinhead!') Most of the additional length comes from a bigger chest and longer legs.
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Free Online Art LessonLearn How to Draw - DVD/Workbook World's Largest Fine Art Programwww.TheGluckMethod.com Figure Drawing Secrets1016 detailed illus. Face, Hands, Feet, Arms, Leg & more $14.95www.FigureDrawingSecrets.com SketchingHere are the top 8 sites on Sketchingwww.8bestsites.com For most figures, the standard proportions are a safe bet, and lightly placing your seven horizontals at the very outset can be a helpful way to ensure your figure will fit on the page. Then more careful measurements can be taken according to your individual subject. Remember that these proportions are for a basic standing figure, and changes in pose will affect the height.

Proportions in Figure Drawing

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Measuring the Model

Have you ever wondered what artists are actually doing when they peer at something over an outstretched pencil-top? Now you know: they are measuring up the model (or object). Ok, so a pencil-top is a pretty rough measure, but it is an immense help in getting down the proportions of your subject. Using this method, it is important to stand in the same place, and to keep your head as still as possible when measuring, and to extend the arm fully with elbow straight, each time a measurement is made. You should not be too close to the model. Remember that the basic unit in figure drawing is the model's head, from top to chin. Holding your pencil in a fist with the thumb upwards, and arm stretched out fully, close your non-master eye and align the top of your pencil with the top of the model's head, and slide your thumb down the pencil until it aligns with the model's chin.
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Perspective DrawingFree perspective drawing information from others. It's fun! www.DiscussIt.biz Free Online Art LessonLearn How to Sketch - DVD/Workbook World's Largest Fine Art Programwww.TheGluckMethod.com Collect Comics, Comic ArtBuy, Sell, Auction 250,000+ members Free pricing, research, appraisals.www.HeritageAuctions.com/Comics There you have your basic unit of measurement on the pencil. Repeat this step whenever necessary. Now, to find how many heads tall your model is, drop your hand slightly so that the top of the pencil is at the chin. Observe carefully the point on the figure that aligns with your thumb - this should be roughly below the breastbone. (2 heads - you count the head itself). Drop the top of the pencil to that point, and so on, down to the feet. To place these measurements on the paper, simply make seven equally spaced horizontal lines down the paper. The actual distance doesn't matter, so long as they are even. You are scaling the observed information to fit the page. Your top division will be the head. As you begin to draw the rest of the figure, check the placement of key points against your head measurements. The armpit begins just above the second head line, the hips at the third, for example. Naturally this will vary depending on the bodyshape and pose of the model. The head unit can also be used to check the size and relative placement of

other parts of the body, as demonstrated by the red lines in the diagram above. Use the 'scale' you have established with the height to judge the correct distance on the paper. In this example, the wrist is one head-unit away from the body.

A Simple Aid to Accurate Drawing

Estimating angles against convenient verticals is a useful way of checking that the direction of lines within the pose are accurate. Sometimes existing features - a doorway behind the model, and the edge of the paper - provide this reference. An alternative method, handy for smaller detail within the page, is using two pencils as a sort of protractor. This is an excellent way of minimising error and ensuring a correctly proportioned figure. Hold them both in the one hand as shown in the example, arm outstretched, such that one pencil is vertical. Use a doorframe or corner to check if need be. Viewing the model behind the pencils, move the second pencil so it is aligned with whatever bodypart needs to be located. Then, being careful not to move the pencils in relation to each other, line them up against your drawing, extending an imaginary line from the angled pencil to draw the required line. This method is particularly useful for correct alignment of the limbs. Of course, you can also use it to check the size of non-vertical angles - such as a bent leg. If you find this method useful, a handy measuring tool can be constructed by using a split pin to hinge two strips of strong card togther

Drawing Noses

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Anatomy of the Nose

Cartilages of the Nose Previous | Next >> When you're drawing people, it helps to know what is going on under the skin. You don't need to remember the latin names, just so long as you remember roughly what goes where - what it looks like. The shape of the nose varies enormously from person to person, because of their bone and cartilage structure, as well as the musculature of their face and the amount of fat under their skin. Its important to observe each individual carefully and study the shape of their nose and its position in relation to their other features.

Drawing Simplified Nose Structure

<< Previous | Next >> The nose can be simplified into a basic prism shape. This will be formed with its apex at the bridge of the nose, and its base across the widest part of the nostrils, tapering up to the tip. Try drawing this simple shape with the face at different angles. Note that in this example, the right side of the nose is longer than the left because of perspective. Drawing this simple prism first helps you to master the perspective element.

Drawing the Nose - Placing the Nose on the Face

<< Previous | Next >> To place the nose on the face, start by sketching the structure of the head. Observe the shape of the face, with its curved plane, which the nose sits into. Draw a line through the forehead and mouth to indicate the midpoint on the face. This will help you ensure that the features are aligned correctly.

Drawing the Nose - Shading the Form

<< Previous | Next >> Avoid outlining and use areas of light and shadow helps to create a three-dimensional effect. The use of directional shading - where your pencil marks follow the form - can accentuate this. Look for highlights and shadows. Note how in this drawing, the nose is quite rounded, so that there isn't a hard line along the nose - its shape is suggested by highlights, but it blends into the cheeks on each side.

Drawing the Nose - Line Drawing

<< Previous | Next >> In this line drawing, you can see how the rounded shape mentioned in the previous step is suggested by use of implied line. The line from the tip of the nose lifts off gradually then re-starts at the bridge of the nose, suggesting a soft edge but not outlining it. Sketchy cross-contour lines also hep to suggest the shape.

Drawing the Nose in Profile

<< Previous | Next When drawing the nose in profile, observe carefully and draw what you see, using other landmarks on the face as reference-points. For example, the nostril may line up with a corner of the nose, or the bump on the bridge will be level with the lower lid - depending on the angle of the face and the anatomy of your sitter. Try holding a pencil out between you and the subject - line it up vertically with a point on the face, and see what other points are perfectly above and below it. Be aware of depth - draw parts of the face that are closer more firmly, and allow the more distant parts to blend in behind them.

How to Draw Eyes

The shape of the lids changes as the eye moves. We tend to think of the eyes as being mirror images of each other, but when gazing to one side, they can look very different.

Expressions can drastically alter the shape of the eye. Pay attention to the lines and wrinkles around the eye, not just the lids themselves, otherwise the eyes will just look mis-shapen. Pay careful attention to placement of the eyes. If drawing without any aids, refer to the key 'landmarks' of the face, checking the angle and distance of the inner and outer points of the eyes in relation to the ears and nose.

To begin with , I use construction lines to indicate the planes of the face, place the pupils and draw in main lines of the lids and brows. Including wrinkles and lines at this point can help provide reference points. I don't usually get too detailed at first, but work up the whole face, adding further reference points and ensuring that everything fits together. Some people prefer to focus on a single area at a time. Careful observation is the key. Observing the tiny details of light and shade in the eyes will bring the subject to life.

Tips: Sometimes a little artist's licence is needed if light is poor or when working from a photo. Adding a little curved highlight cutting across the pupil and iris, a shadow under the lid, or detail to the iris, can brighten flat eyes. Don't automatically outline the lower lid - often the lower rim is highlighted and needs to be lightly indicated. Observe the subtle changes in tone which indicate the eye socket, and the planes of the nose and brows, which help to sit the eyes into the face.

How to Draw Hair

Page 1 of 3 - Drawing Short Hair

When drawing short hair, first ensure that the skull is accurately drawn and in proportion, with the ears properly placed. Begin by drawing in the darkest areas, with pencil strokes going against the direction of growth, carefully leaving white where there are lighter hairs. Build up the hair in short strokes, working up to lighter areas. Take care to leave highlights clear. Use a harder pencil to lightly even out the tone beween dark and highlight.Where hair is very short, or lighter hairs cross over dark hair, very short marks may be needed. Further highlights may be picked out with an eraser, or if need be, a sharp Exacto knife or scalpel. (Try this last on a scrap piece first!!)

How to Draw Hair

Page 2 of 3 - Drawing Long Hair One of the most common mistakes is to attempt to draw every hair as a pencil-stroke. A single pencil line cannot represent the many changes of tone along the shaft of hair, so this approach is invariably disastrous. Another problem is lack of care - you should spend at least as much time on the hair as on the face.

First, look carefully at the model or reference photo and identify the major sections of hair. Curls will often be rather flat, like ribbons curling back on themselves. Try to ignore odd strands at first, concentrating on the main bulk of the hair, and lightly outline the main shapes and sections.

Next draw in the darks with a soft pencil, being careful to leave the highlights well alone. At this point, you might wish to lightly sketch in prominent lighter hairs that need to be left, bringing the darks up close beside them, to avoid problems with erasing them. Where strands of hair cross, small marks may be necessary to separate them. Make sure you follow the direction of the curl.

How to Draw Hair

Page 3 of 3 - Drawing Long Hair (Continued)

Now draw the mid-tones, with pencil-strokes following the direction of hair. Draw the darker lines separating sections of hair, and patiently draw the dark areas showing behind lighter hairs. At this point I use a harder pencil over the darks, filling in the paper-grain and blending the tone out along the hair. For supersmooth and shiny hair you can use a blending stump along the hair.

To finish off, I've added a few stray marks to loosen up the drawing around the edges. Some sections of hair are smoothed with a stump and highlights picked out with an eraser. The original drawing is a little sharper than shown by the scan - after blending tone and erasing, I use a hard pencil to lightly re-define nearby areas and keep them crisp.

The Gryphon (griffin) is a magical animal that comes equipped with the hind end of a lion and the front end of an eagle. This would cause the beast some probl ems, I'm sure, because, if you've ever eaten a chicken and seen it's bones, you know that the legs on a bird are his hind legs. His wings are the equivalent of our arms. Therefore, the Gryphon has two sets of hind legs, which would make anyone a little grouchy. The picture at the top is from Alice in Wonderland. His "elbow," just under his tired beak, is really the heel on a bird (they walk on their toes) so, as a picture, it works (because the artist left the knees out!) The limb appears to bend in the right direction, and the animal is believable. As a real animal it would be a bit awkward, wouldn't it? Now, let's learn how to draw a magical gryphon! People have been making up animals out of various parts for thousands of years. One of the most recent conglomerations is Buckbeak, the Hippogryph from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. J. K. Rowling used the front end of an eagle and the back end of a horse. I like to think of Buckbeak as a descendant of a marriage between Pegasus and a Roc. But that's another story... The idea of a hippogryph is not really Ms. Rowling's idea, of course. Like almost all of the magical animals from the Harry Potter books, the hippogryph is taken from ancient mythology. Buckbeak, according to the ancients, had a gryphon for a father, and a horse for a mother. If you would like to draw Buckbeak, you can use these instructions, but substitute the lioness' back end with the back end of a horse.

One difficult thing about drawing an animal that is made up of parts of different animals is finding models that are situated in similar poses. You want your back end going in the same direction as your front end, after all. We also need to figure out how to stick on the extra limbs - one main characteristic of real animals (at least the ones with backbones) is that we all have four limbs, be they arms, legs, or wings. Six is not part of the normal plan. But we need to make it look believable! I found photos we can use that are close, but you may want to do some surfing on the web, using the research method mentioned in the chapter on the Serpent, to find pictures that you like better. The eagle showing off his wings is a Golden Eagle, the great head shot up above is an eagle from Australia called a Wedge Tailed Eagle. You might like the head down below better, but I thought the Wedge Tailed Eagle was quite elegant. We'll use the chest from the Bald Eagle, and the Lioness will loan us her rear end. Whew!

To start off this very complicated drawing, you might want to do a little more Internet surfing and look at some sites with drawings of Gryphons. One especially nice one is at: http://gryphonguild.org/tome.html. It's OK to use other people's drawings for inspiration, and you can even do a copy for practice, but it is much nicer to create a new drawing, completely from your own imagination. At first I thought that it would be easiest to get all the parts to work together if we draw the front and back half of our Gryphon on separate sheets of paper and then put the eagle half over the lion half, moving them around 'till we get something that looks reasonable. But I soon discovered that it is easiest to make the critter look real if the body, including front legs, of the lioness is sketched in first. I then used the basic sketch to change the front legs into eagle parts, and added the wings.

Now we have a very rough drawing of an animal that seems to have all the parts in the right place. I will use this drawing under a clean sheet of paper, and begin to put in the details. I will pay special attention to the eyes, and have a lot of fun with the feathers. Since all the lion parts are behind the eagle parts in the drawing, we won't have to work at getting the feathers to turn into fur. You'll notice that eagles and hawks have a ridge over their eyes that acts like a built-in baseball cap, keeping the sun out of their eyes. They hunt by sight (they can see about three times as well as we can!) and the bony ridge protects their eyes. It also gives them a somewhat sinister look. In addition, they have an upturn to the beak that makes it look like they're smiling, in an evil sort of way. These qualities are great for adding character to our Gryphon.

OK, now it's your turn! Build yourself a Gryphon using your own imagination. Or mix and match other animal's parts, like J. K. Rowling did with Buckbeak.

DRAWING HORSES
Allow me to introduce myself--my name is Suzanne Jessup. I have been drawing horses since I could first pick up a pencil. When I was younger, I was one of those starry eyed little girls that you always see gawking at horses in the fields and at horse shows. I bought my first horse when I was fourteen. That is when I began to really draw horses! Hopefully, through this tutorial, I can help you to draw horses as well! I would like to add that none of the work on this site is available for clip art. =o) It is all original art work by myself, and is copyrighted to me. With that said, let us begin, shall we? There are a lot of things you need to know before you can draw a believably realistic horse. You will need to know about a horses anatomy, how he moves, and how he acts. I am going to break this tutorial down into several steps for you. I also believe that it is fair to tell you that you will not be able to draw better horses right away. Believe it or not, practice makes perfect! In this spirit, this tutorial will give you homework. Hopefully, I can help you to draw better horses.

LESSON 1 ANATOMY
I am of the school of thought that you can not draw anything well unless you know how it is put together. Trust me, knowing anatomy really does help! I have only

attempted an understanding of it recently, and I can already see where the knowledge has helped me to become better! Understanding anatomy will help you to create a solid understanding of how a horse is put together, and it will help to give you a strong foundation to build your horses. The following is a sketch I made of a basic equine skeleton. I found it very helpful to actually draw. That way, I remember where the bones are, which bones connect to which bones, and it helped to give me a better understanding of how a horse is built. I suggest drawing this a few times if you are serious about drawing realistic horses. It can only help =o).

Lets get a little more in depth and take a look at a horses muscles. Understanding the placement of the muscles will help your horse take on a more realistic look. Placing muscle definition correctly in your drawing will help give a more life-like touch to your horse. Good muscle placement also helps make action drawings more realistic and can help your drawing take on a sense of movement as opposed to a simple pose drawing.

Horses have very large muscle groups. They are very powerful, and sometimes complex. Muscles layer on top of one another as well, and thus create further muscle definition. To keep things simple, and because I am still learning, I have only included a basic sketch of muscle groups. I suggest sketching one or two of these as well. Familiarize yourself with muscle placement and become comfortable with it. This should be more than enough to help with definition and your understanding of function. One of the biggest problems I see fellow artists make with their horses, is poor muscle definition in the front legs. I will admit that I too have difficulty with them. There are so many smaller muscles in the foreleg, that definition can become frustrating. It is also difficult when you do not understand where the bones lie under the muscle, or where the tendons are. This sketch should help. I also suggest that you make your own sketch of this. Like I said before, it can only help =o).

LESSON 2 -- BREEDS
Over the centuries, men have developed hundreds of specialized breeds of the horse. We have bred the bulky and powerful draft horse to pull our carts, our plows, and to carry our knights and heroes. We have bred swift Thoroughbreds to race and jump. We have bred beautiful Arabians to drink the wind and dazzle our eyes. We have bred tiny gentle breeds of ponies to look after our children, and we have bred every breed and every size in between. Each different breed of horse has been specialized for certain work. Large and gentle draft horses were bred hundreds of years ago as powerful and obedient steeds of war. They carried knights and heroes and, when they were not becoming heroes themselves, draft horses helped us to develop our land. Draft horses are usually significantly heavier in appearance than most other breeds of horse. Even the bones of draft horses are larger than the bones of the lighter breeds. Draft horses necks are thicker, their backs often appear shorter, and they can be much taller than most other breeds. It is not uncommon for a draft horse to be so tall that the head of his master is level with the horses shoulder. Their manes are usually thick and often appear almost curly. Draft horses tails are often bobbed and the hair is often kept cut short. This way, their tails do not become entwined in harnesses or riggings.

The quarter horse is a favorite of Americas cowboys. They are named such because of their endurance. It is said that a quarter horse has excellent speed and endurance, but only for a quarter of a mile =o). They have tremendous endurance, especially for long journeys. They would, no doubt, be an excellent choice of steed for a long quest. Their hind ends are usually very muscular and therefor, very powerful. Of all breeds of horse, the quarter horse is one of the fastest accelerating runners. They maneuver quickly and gracefully and, as a general rule, are sturdy and surefooted.

The Arabian is perhaps one of the oldest and most beautiful of all of the breeds of horses. Arabians originated in the desert, and have great endurance. Although they are not the fastest breed, Arabians are often the favorites of riders who compete in grueling endurance races. Arabians earn the name "drinkers of the wind" because of their nostrils. If you were to compare the breeds, you might find that when working, the Arabian will flare its nostrils wide and take in great gulps of air. They also have larger, well-shaped ears, bigger eyes, a "dished face," tapered muzzle, and a more delicate appearances. Arabians are said to be very loyal. It has also been said that their masters treasure them greatly, and in the desert, it is not unheard of for an Arabian to share a tent with his master.

LESSON 3 MOVEMENT
Most horses have four simple gaits: the walk, trot, canter, and the gallop. Some specialized breeds of horses have special gates, but we will not deal with that here. It is a good idea to keep in mind where a horses legs are going to be positioned for each gait. This way, if you desire to draw a walking horse, you will not accidentally draw one that has decided to amble on at a brisk trot! =o)

THE WALK

THE TROT

THE CANTER OR LOPE

THE GALLOP -- GIDDY-UP!! Horses also have a wide variety of other movements. Horses rear, jump, backup, they move side ways and diagonally, they buck, they frolic, and they like to goof off just like we do. Horses can also be quite playful, graceful, reluctant, bored, uninterested, uncooperative, afraid, and upset; their movement reflects that.

The best thing that I can tell you to do now is to spend as much time as you can observing horses in their environments. You will see how they interact, get a good feel for their movement, and you will pick up a lot about their behavior and expressions that I could never teach you. For those of you who are not fortunate enough to have access to a horse, I suggest going to your local library. There are several books there that will help you to gain a better understanding of horses. May I suggest: The Noble Horse, The Encyclopedia of the Horse, and The Ultimate Horse Book. These books are excellent references. If you have done your homework, chances are, you have built a solid foundation for drawing horses and all of this will come to you. If you havent taken the time to understand a horses anatomy, I am afraid the following sections may not help you much. I can not say it often enough: understanding anatomy is crucial to drawing believably realistic horses!

LESSON 4 DRAWING THE HORSE

I would like to point out that the lessons that follow are aimed at those who already have some drawing skills. I trust that you already know a little bit about basic sketches and the like, so I will not go into too much depth about it. I suggest reading the FARP article on drawing and sketching if you are a beginner. I would also like to take this opportunity to state that I have never received lessons of any sort and I may not be up on the terminology behind technique, so I beg that you bear with me! Hopefully, you are a little more comfortable with a horses anatomy by now, and you know what kind of horse you need for the job, so please, allow me to help you put that brave steed on your paper? We will start with the head. This is the part of the horse that will give your drawing the most character. As I said before, anatomy is priceless! In the spirit of this statement, I feel the need to share a few more bones with you--specifically, the horses skull. I suggest you draw this on your own as well. It can only help!

Pay attention to where the eye sockets are. Notice that the teeth meet at an angle, not parallel like people teeth. Please pay attention to the fact that the horses jawbone starts under the ear and extends (in one solid and unbendable piece) to the teeth and chin. A horses head is a lot of bone, and it appears harder in the areas of the skull. A horses head softens where it is fleshiest (this applies to the body as well). The nostrils, lips, and chin are the softest areas on the horses face. They are entirely moveable and are more than capable of expression(we will save expression for a later, more advanced lesson). Now, lets get some ponies on your paper, shall we? Horses are fairly round creatures. You can get away with sketching a pretty good horse with only circles and ovals. That is how I always start. I like to sketch out a basic form. It gives me a foundation with which to work.

THE HEAD (SIDE VIEW)

Step 1 In looking at a horses head from the side; you will notice that the cheek and muzzle are both fairly round parts of the horses face. I start with these. First, I sketch the circle that will become the cheek. I will then decide what angle I would like the horses head to be at. Do I want his nose high in the air? Do I want it tucked gracefully at his chest? After I have decided, I will sketch the muzzle-circle. The size of the muzzle circle should be smaller than the cheek by about half. How small exactly will depend on the breed of horse you want. In this case, I am drawing an Arabian, so the muzzle is smaller than it would be for a heavier breed of horse. Connect the muzzle and the cheek with what will become the jaw line and the forehead. Pencil in the curve of the neck and position your ears. I like to suggest the eyes with a small oval. The eyes are usually approximately 1/3 of the length of the horses head from its ears to its nose. Now, take a look. Are you satisfied with it so far? This is the basic outline your horse will take. If you want to change it, do it now, while it is still easy!

Step 2 From this point, I put a little more and more detail into my horses face. I do it a little at a time, and I start with simple suggestions. This way, they are easier to change, and they will become like guidelines for me when I complete the line sketch. I like to suggest the nostril, the cheekbone, and the line of the mouth lightly. By now, you should have a pretty good idea of what your horse will look like. Are you still satisfied? If you arent, change it. I have noticed that if I am not satisfied with a drawing in its earliest stages, I will not be satisfied when it is complete! Also, I have also noticed that most of the faux pas are committed in the earliest stages: eye placement, mouth size and placement, nostrils, ears, etc.

Step 3 If you are satisfied with your basic sketch so far, then it is time to bring your horse a bit more life. It is time for more detail. This is when I add muscle definition, hair, and all of the defining lines that bring character. If you look carefully, and remember you anatomy, you will notice that the parts of the horses face that are not fleshy still greatly resemble the horses skull. Notice the definition around the eyes, the bridge of the nose and the jaw. This is our foundation showing through.

Step 4 It is time for the final breath of life! =o) This is another area of the drawing where we will use our knowledge of anatomy. Because the horses head is built on his skull, and his muscle built on that, his outside body has the same shape. We know where his muscles are, so we can define them with shading. We know how his skull is shaped, so we can give his harder forehead a realistically solid look. Hopefully, now you see why I urge you to learn anatomy! Once you learn anatomy, everything else is cake!

THE HEAD (FRONT VIEW)

Drawing the head from the front is a more complex angle to learn. It is an angle that many, many artists have trouble with (including myself). Nevertheless, I hope that I can help you to draw this angle.

Step 1 I usually start the front view off with a square oval. This is the shape that represents to me the horses jaw. I then add a smaller squared oval to represent the horses muzzle. With those in place, I draw a guideline for the horses eyes: this should be 1/3 the ways down the "jaw." With the eye line in place, I draw the circle that will become the horses forehead and I pencil in the basic placement and shape of the ears.

Step 2 I begin to solidify my lines. I will suggest the horses eyes at the sides of his face. I will use ovals to represent nostrils, and I will give more shape to the head and to the ears. I also like to draw lines from the corner of each eye to between the nostrils and from the corner of ear eye to almost the center of the horses forehead.

The diamond shape that results will give you the area of the horses face that will be like a flat plane and will require the least amount of detail.

Step 3 When I am satisfied with my outline, I begin to add my detail. Things begin to take shape now. This horse has been working hard: I gave him flared nostrils. He is also quite alert: his ears are both pointed forward. He looks animated and interested. He is ready for finishing touches.

Step 4 I gave this horse a nice blaze on his face (the white area). I think markings like that give a horse a lot of character. Notice though, that in the "diamond" I showed you earlier, there is little need for detail? This is the plane on his face. It is a hard area (skin on bone). Notice also that the horses eyes are at the sides of his head, not at the front, and his ears have a good space between them. I think we are ready to move on! =o)

DRAWING THE BODY

As I told you before, the horse has a lot of round areas. We can suggest a lot of him with circles and ovals. This applies to his body as well as his head. Starting with circles also gives the finished horse a soft "live" look.

Step 1 I like to start with the part of the horses body that will be closest to me. Because this horse is facing us, I started on his chest and worked from there. I suggested each half of his chest with its own oval. I also suggested where his neck would meet his chest and went up from there to his neck and head. I then placed an oval to suggest the horses barrel (belly) and an oval for his hind end. When I had the bulk of his body penciled in, I then felt comfortable enough to go for leg placement. I wanted a relaxed look, so I spaced his front legs a bit. I suggest the knees and ankles first then fill in the leg with ovals. When you have the entire basic outline, take a step back and look at it. Remember that most people goof up in the

first few steps of the drawing. Remember too, that if you are not satisfied now, chances are, you will not be satisfied later. Feel free to play with leg placement and head placement. Dont be afraid of your eraser. This is a loose sketch. There is nothing permanent about it. yet. =o)

Step 2 I move fairly quickly from step to step because I have been doing this for years. You may choose to take your time. Either way, you will work towards this: a less basic sketch of what your completed horse will look like, complete with a little bit of character. In this step, I simply give outline to a form that already existed. I begin to suggest muscles and the facial expression. I also add a little hair, and sometimes, I will start to play with background (but not today). This is also a loose sketch so far. Nothing is permanent. Feel free to work with it. Play with your horse. Get the feel of him. Do you like how he looks? If not, change him! =o)

Step 3 This is where we get to refine the animal. I look at where I want my light source and lightly play with shadow. I also refine all of the lines. I give him more detail. He has better muscle definition now. At this point, if you do not like him, you may as well start over, because shading him in might only frustrate you. You could always go back to step 2. The steps are not in stone. You are still free to play here. Maybe move a leg. Maybe his head is in the wrong place. You might think his neck is too long. It is still not too late to play.

Step 4 This is it! Are you ready to have a pony? Because like it or not, you got one! =o) Muscle definition should be soft when a horse is relaxed like this. There is no real need for harsh lines here. The shading should be blended softly on cloudy days like this.The highlights and shadows on a horses body are more than difficult to explain. However, it you were to look back at your anatomy, you might recognize that the horse has kept the basic form of the skeleton and the definition that we saw in the muscled area. Understanding this and your light source will help you to shade the animal realistically. Body shots from the front like this are difficult because complete anatomical references are difficult to find, and the muscles of the chest are layered and complex. Your best bet is to look at a horse. Feel his chest, and watch it as he moves. I put the following sketches in the tutorial to give you an idea of proportion and perspectives. Several people have asked to see horses from different angles, and so I offer you these: Try drawing them =o)

I suggest that you draw many horses in many different poses to get a feel for them. Do not worry at first if they are not perfect. Time and a lot of practice is the only effective teacher. I like to go out to a field full of horses with my sketchpad and draw them as they graze and interact. You might like to draw pictures from books or magazines as well. Either way, practice makes perfect, and no one is perfect, so keep practicing! =o)

HORSES IN FANTASY
Horses are the foundation for several mythological creatures. I could never draw them all, but I thought you might take interest in a few. I know that the traditional unicorn is not a horse with a horn, but I am fond of the interpretation. The horned horses are more powerful to me than the deer-like creature they are rumored to really be, so I offer you these:

I know also, that horses love their mistresses, so I offer you this:

And then, there are the creatures that are part horse. We have the Hippocampus, Seahorses, Pegasus, centaur, and many, many others. With this in mind, I offer you these:

And now we have come to the end. I do not believe that I have much more than this to offer you for now. .I am still learning a lot about art and about drawing horses. I will, as soon as I am comfortable doing so, author a more advanced article as a supplement to this one. I hope to be able to master expression and action. When I do, I will share with you what I have learned. Until then, good luck. I hope I have been able to help you!

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Ballpoint pen sketch of male profile - by JR Dunster

Above is an example of the cross-hatching technique. It is most often used with pen and ink (or, in the example above, ball-point pen). Small thin "hatched" lines are used to simulate shadows or darker tones. But there's more to shading than just hacking in some lines. The type of line you use is important, how you use other shading techniques, and also knowing what to shade - these are all just as important.

To the left are two cylinders. The one on top is drawing using what I call "contour lines" The bottom cylinder uses random cross-hatching lines. Both are used to give the cylinder a more 3-D and dimensional look. Which one do you think is more successful? While both cylinder shapes look...well, cylindrical, I believe the top cylinder looks more 3-D. That's because the "contour lines" go around the cylinder, which emphasizes its roundness. The bottom drawing gives the cylinder a shadow, but it doesn't have as much of a "3-D" look. The lines do nothing but suggest a tone. They can suggest dark, less dark, medium, light - that's all they can do. Actually, if you look at the bottom cylinder in a certain way, you aren't sure if the rendering is really supposed to be a shadow, or just a dark stripe down the side. I personally find myself using a certain amount of "dimensional" or "contour" lines in my drawings, paintings - anything I create. I can feel the depth and shape of the thing I am rendering, and some of my brush strokes show that. Other brush strokes (or pencil lines, etc.) are just used to indicate tone, to deepen the shadow. But there are always "contour lines" in there somewhere, helping to give that suggestion of depth. This is not to say that all drawings must use contour lines. Some artists have fantastic rendering techniqes which don't allow them. Like - painting everything in little dots, random hatches, and so forth. No one technique is suitable for every artist. But, when drawing faces, I find that these contour lines to be so alive. So I prefer to use them.

Here's another example - which set of lips look more like lips? Which set looks more round and alive? I vote for the bottom set. The shading lines are more "contoured" and give the illusion of depth to the lips. The top set of lips give some indication of tone, but the cross-hatching is so poorly done, that it flattens the lips.

Next >> | Page 2 >> | Page 3 >> | Page 4 >> | Page 5 >> | To learn more about how to use your pencil or pen to make shading and rendering strokes, please read the "Drawing Techniques" section. >> If you are a little unclear about the concept of shading, please read the "Drawing for Newbies" tutorial, which gives an introduction to shading, among other things. >>